A pipe repair kit contains all the equipment needed to permanently fix a leaking pipe inside of 30 minutes without any formal training. The user simply follows the instructions required to repair the leak quickly and at a fraction of the cost of hiring a plumber.
It is the convenience of pipe repair kits that are making them an increasingly in-demand product. According to Household Quote, the average hourly rate a plumber charged in the United Kingdom in 2019 was between £40 and £60 per hour.
For emergency call outs, you can double that. Hiring a plumber to carry out a pipe repair on an unexpected and sudden leak can set back a household or business a three figure sum. Compare that to a pipe repair kit which can be picked up for under £20 and you can see why more people are choosing kits over tradesmen.
Different pipe repair kits contain different products depending on the type of leak that requires fixing. If water pressure can be turned off, then the kit will come with an epoxy putty for plugging the hole or crack and a pipe repair bandage to reinforce the initial repair.
A pipe repair kit for use on a live leak where flow cannot be isolated will contain additional pipe repair tape. Epoxy putty can sometimes struggle to plug leaks where pressure is maintained, whereas pipe repair tape will seal leaks even where water continues to run.
Both epoxy putty and pipe repair tape are easy to use. Putty is kneaded by hand and when it becomes sticky, is pushed into the crack or hole in the pipe requiring repair where it will cure and harden to produce a watertight seal.
Pipe repair tape is simply wrapped around the damaged area to cover the hole in the pipe. High-quality pipe repair kits will contain self-fusing silicone tape, which stretches to 300% its original length and forms a solid rubber band over the leak to maintain maximum pressure.
These repairs are then overwrapped with a pipe repair bandage. Each wrap is made from resin-soaked fibreglass which is water activated; when doused, it will begin to harder. Once set, the bandage provides a rock hard, impact resistant layer for a permanent pipe repair.
The products in pipe repair kits are effective on pipes of all materials and will usually have high temperature resistance up to 200ºC, pressure resistance up to 30bar and good chemical resistance.
Kits will often be categorised by size. Kits for domestic plumbing repairs with smaller sized bandages will come in at the cheaper end of the scale. Industrial users who need to fix significantly larger pipes in critical infrastructure can find kits with bandages up to 20 metres in length.
The size of the kit or the leaking pipe does not make a difference as to who can undertake the task. Any user can repair the leaking pipe simply by following the instructions that come with the kit. Alternatively, there are a wealth of videos on YouTube showing how to fix a leaking pipe with a pipe repair kit.
For pipework which supplies water which may be consumed by humans, it is important to check that the pipe repair kit has been WRAS approved. Any product with WRAS approval has been certified as safe for use with drinking water, ensuring that it will not contaminate water or pose a health risk.
The amount of time and money that can be saved by using a pipe repair kit has seen many industries which encounter pipework on a regular basis take stock of kits for when emergencies strike.
While the likes of sewerage plants and water and utility companies have an obvious need for such a tool, pipe repair kits are being increasingly purchased by carpenters, electricians, builders and other tradesmen who might suddenly find themselves needing to carry out an emergency repair if they accidentally cut into a pipe.
Hotels, restaurants and bars are taking stock of pipe repair kits to fix leaks as soon as they occur, allowing them to avoid business disruptions. Pipe repair kits are found in leisure centres and gyms and they have even been used to repair beer lines in breweries.
They are the quickest, easiest, most convenient, and cheapest way to fix a leaking pipe.
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